A hundred Africans succeeded in scaling the triple frontier between Morocco and Melilla and are being held in a immigrants’ centre

An attempt by a large group of Sub-Saharan Africans to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla - and thus Europe - has taken place, the second in less than a week.

Although approximately 500 would-be immigrants made the mass attempt at dawn, to jump over the three fences which separate Melilla from Morocco, only a hundred succeeded. At least thirty of these needed medical attention in Melilla’s ‘Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes’ or CETI (immigration centre) for cuts, bruises and various injuries. Thirteen Moroccan police officers also needed to be seen by health professionals in the border city of Nador.

Last week,150 Sub-Saharans managed to scale the six metre high fences at the frontier in a similar mass attempt. Apparently a strong police presence in Nador alongside a drop in temperatures and the arrival of heavy rain has precipitated the increasing frequency of these attempts.

The heightened tension in the region is not just due to the number of immigrants trying to enter Spain via Melilla but also a recent incident in Ceuta - Spain’s other enclave - which has been condemned by the opposition political parties and the European Union. Fifteen Sub-Saharans died after being discovered attempting to reach Ceuta by sea. The police boat patrol which found them is accused of failing to come to their aid and instead firing a volley of rubber bullets and smoke cannisters at them.

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